Protesters herded on to tube train

The protesters were heading for a rally in London

More than 150 protesters dressed in sheep masks crammed into a tube carriage in protest over animal exports.

The demonstrators from Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) squashed themselves on to a Circle Line train before a rally outside the National Farmers' Union headquarters in Shaftesbury Avenue.

They are opposed to the export of live animals from the UK to Europe.

A spokesman for CIWF said: "We turned quite a few heads on the underground. It was all peaceful and done as a stunt to raise people's awareness.

"There is no good argument for exporting live animals."

The European Union has given permission for the live exports of lambs, sheep and pigs to resume from the UK after they were stopped during the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

The group believes that animals should be sent to an abattoir in the UK and then exported instead of trucking them across the continent in inhumane conditions.